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Center Channel - Why not add "something" to the new Heritage line?


fleshx

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I see multiple posts of what Center goes with so-n-so Heritage line speakers. Once again, I'll ask why is Klipsch not re-introducing a Center Channel to the Heritage line aka Academy/Horizontal Cornwall. Last time I asked someone from Klipsch on these boards pipe-in, just wait...Well that's been several months(6+), and nothing. Several of us have these huge Klipsch home theater speakers and no "matching timbre" Heritage center Please address this gap in your line..

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There may not be enough demand for a center channel Heritage speaker.

Even though the Heritage line makes great home theater speakers they have been marketed as 2 channel stereo speakers not home theater speakers, this may have changed now with LS IIs, Cornwall IIIs, Heresy IIIs.

Most people use either a Heresy, Cornwall, and La Scala. If space is a issue then I understand why something like a Academy/Horizontal Cornwall would be helpfull. I used 3 La Scalas up front with great results!

What Heritage speakers do you have and did you buy them new recently?

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I had a long discussion with a tech at klipsch before 86ing my reference stuff to go heritage HT. The short answer is - Yes this is being consided. A Center and some sort of rear. As for real world production- Don't hold your breath. The availability of preowned heresy-lascala- cornwall combined with the bad economy- It just ain't happening any time soon. So just suffer with the rest of us and buy a single if you can find it. I had to buy a pair of Lascalas. I have an extra single lascala that I will sell for 350.00-Charlotte NC local pickup. My kid would love to have it out of his room.

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Oh yeah- another thing- If you are using k horns as fronts in an HT setup- building a riser to elevate the heritage center to the same height as the top (horn)section of the k horns made a helluva difference in mine. I also raised up the real Lascalas and I am thinking about doing the same to the Cornwall surrounds. Concrete blocks- plywood-black felt- and 2 hours of moving stuff and swearing is all that is required.Worth the effort.

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"What Heritage speakers do you have and did you buy them new recently?"

I own 2 Cornwalls(older), two La Scallas(older), two hersey(older), several Klipsch bookshelfs and

Klipsch pc speaker systems. My problem, as you said, I have no room for a huge speaker

where my tv needs to sit at eye level. I guess I'll ponder the options.

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The LaScala is the Heritage center channel to go inbetween a pair of Khorns. The Heresy goes inbetween a pair of Cornwalls.


Exactly. With those choices already, why would Klipsch produce one of those 2-woofers, one-at-each-end "centre speakers" that go against audio engineering theory for the sake of use of space?

The Heresy III is barely adequate between a pair of JubScalas in terms of sound quality, in my system, at least, so it would make no sense to go to a smaller "centre-style" speaker that wasn't as good as the Heresy.

If I ever get a pair of Jubilees, one of the La Scalas will become the centre speaker and the other one may become the centre rear speaker.
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My La Scala center serves as my TV stand and I think it's the perfect height. It's flanked by Klipschorn's and sports a custom DeanG crossover network (thanks Dean) it is support by dual Velodyne HGS-15's on either side and 4 Cornwalls in the rear.

There already are center channels for the Heritage line use the same model as your mains! Simple. Make it work! You can use a split La Scala and use the bass bin as the stand and locate the top section elsewhere.

Heresy's - obvious another Heresy

Cornwalls - a Cornwall or Heresy (as outlined by Doc above)

Belle's & La Scala's - a Belle or La Scala is best a Cornwall would work as well

Klipschorns - a Belle or La Scala

The Academy was designed with the extended Heritage line (Quartet, Forte, Forte' II, Chorus & Chorus II) not the original Heritage lineup.

I ran my La Scala laying on it's side it was a compromise (had an RPTV) but it worked until I got a flat screen and stood it upright.

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I ran my La Scala laying on it's side it was a compromise (had an RPTV) but it worked until I got a flat screen and stood it upright.


How did the "horizontal" La Scala sound? Did you hear much difference when you put it back on its feet?
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Well it was not a drastic difference and I used it laying on it's side for a year or two due to the size and orientation of the 42" RPTV that I had perched on it. Made a great stand.

Even sitting off axis I could still hear it well, only extremely off axis made a difference but then the same could be said when it is standing upright as well. If your listening positions are in front of it or off to the side somewhat I don't think you would notice the difference.

I was determined to make it work no matter what. I had a pair of Speakerlab K's with sealed off backs that I thought about using one as a center ala Qman Klipschorn center but the La Scala is easier to deal with and blends seamlessly with the Khorn's. It's been completely rewired and I have the better K-55V solder terminal dual phase plug midrange in it and one of DeanG's hotrodded networks.

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"What Heritage speakers do you have and did you buy them new recently?"

I own 2 Cornwalls(older), two La Scallas(older), two hersey(older), several Klipsch bookshelfs and

Klipsch pc speaker systems. My problem, as you said, I have no room for a huge speaker

where my tv needs to sit at eye level. I guess I'll ponder the options.

What speakers do you use for the left & right of your home theater?

How much room do you have between your speakers and what height do you want the tv to be?

I like to be at eyelevel with the tv which it sounds like you do to.

I have a La Scala center channel that I bought off Ebay for $300 bucks. I cut off the top HF section[:o] and centered it under the tv with the LF section turned on it's side next to the HF section(not sure if you use the La Scalas as L&R for HT) and when I sit on my couch the middle of the screen is centered on my vision[Y]. If I had not done this the center of the screen would have been 58 inches high[N] and this is okay if you are about 15 feet back but I'm 10 feet back and it gives me a pain in the neck.

So there are alot of people on the forum who can either help you figure out which Heritage speaker will work best as a center channel or help you build a custom center channel.

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Sorry guys, I'm not put my 52" LCD on a LaScalla.

I would say your options are find a single split industrial La Scala, find a single La Scala and do what I did [:o],build your own single split La Scala.

Here is a pic of my tv on top of my split LS with a very crude grill cover. The middle of the screen is around 43 inches which sitting on my couch put the middle at my eyelevel.

I tried turning the La Scala on it's side before decapitating it but I did not like how it sounded. However it does not mean you would not like the way it sounds so that is a option also.

post-13699-13819476606252_thumb.jpg

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If there wasn't need why'd they make an Academy in the first place.


I think your answer was in a previous post:

"The Academy was designed with the extended Heritage line (Quartet, Forte, Forte' II, Chorus & Chorus II) not the original Heritage lineup."

The most compact new Heritage centre speaker is the Heresy III. The original Heresy was introduced as the world's first centre speaker in 1957. It likely sounds better than those 2-woofer "centre" speakers that I referred to in an earlier post, even lying on its side.

The best centre speaker for horn-loaded main speakers is another horn-loaded speaker. Using a direct-firing speaker would be heresy, hence the name. If a big Heritage speaker is too big for your situation, the Heresy does make a decent centre speaker, since that was its original purpose. Some have even put one on top of their TV. Mine's below the TV, lying on its side, and it looks and sounds pretty good for its size. The opening in the cabinet is not dead centre, so I placed the Heresy III with its tweeter closest to the centre-line of the screen and placed a strip of high-density foam rubber under its front edge to tilt it up towards the listening position.

post-23736-13819476614206_thumb.jpg

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If there wasn't need why'd they make an Academy in the first place.
Somebody at Klipsch thought there was a need as do I. Sorry guys, I'm not put my 52" LCD on a LaScalla.

I believe the Academy was designed to mate with the Quartet. Different target levels of performance allow for different tradeoffs.

The "horizontal" center channel that Klipsch was going to come out with for the Heritage lineup was just going to be a Heresy with the HF/MF section rotated 90 degrees so that it could be placed on its side. It doesn't sound like you would be interested in that.

Klipsch makes all sorts of other product lines...perhaps you might consider something closer to the form factor you're looking for?

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"Sorry guys, I'm not put my 52" LCD on a LaScalla"

You have already limited yourself and your listening experience by being close-minded, I have the Cinema Grade Hitachi Plasma on mine and I would not have it any other way. What's make your TV so special?

The La Scala blends seamlessly with the Klipschorn's mains, and does what it was designed and built to do in the first place which is reproduce dialogue. Bringing levels of detail in soundtracks that even the best theaters cannot re-create. It can play at insane levels for music playback without the slightest hint of distortion. Levels approaching the 125-130db threshold.

You need to think out of the box! You want to see thinking out of the box and a no holds barred home theater find Qman's posts of his system and his custom Klipschorn center channel. Go custom it's not that hard I already mentioned the Split La Scala route, a Vertical Cornwall is also a killer choice.

You came here asking about center channels, there already good choices available you are not going to get something newer and smaller that is going to hang with the Heritage line speakers period.

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Thanks for the pix jbsl...Doesn't setting these speakers on the side direct the
high-end(most of the media's speech audio) to one side of the listening area?

I currently have the LaScalla's as the fronts, cornwall rears.

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